MS in Jain prakrit on paper, Western India, ca. 1500, 105 ff. (complete), 13x31 cm, single column, (10x26 cm), 15 lines in Devanagari book script, 2 miniatures in gold, red and lapiz lazuli.
The Suryaprajnaptisutra, an astronomical work dating to the 3rd or 4th c. BC, constitutes on of the classics of the Jain Svetambara sect and gives information on the sun, moon and planets and their motions. As in this MS, copies of the work generally only include 2 illustrations on the opening pages, one of Mahavira, the last and most celebrated of the Jinas, teaching to all creatures, and the other of his greatest disciple, Gotama. The prosperity of the Jain community in this period is reflected in the expensive materials, especially gold and lapis lazuli, that were used in luxury MSS such as this one.
Language: Prakrit